Monarch Airlines has announced it is to stop flying from East Midlands Airport.

The Luton-based carrier currently operates two aircraft from the Castle Donington site, which fly 34 times a week to nine destinations, including popular sunshine resorts such as Ibiza, Majorca and Tenerife. Monarch will cease operating these services in April next year.

Bosses said many of the 79 cabin crew, pilots and engineers based at the airport would be relocated to other airports, including Birmingham and Luton.

The company said it had taken the decision as part of a shake-up of the business, which will see it go from an airline chartered by holiday companies to one running a daily schedule of flights booked directly by passengers.

A spokeswoman said: “East Midlands is not performing how we would need it to perform.”

Andrew Swaffield, chief executive of The Monarch Group, said: “I would like to thank all our customers who have used Monarch’s services at East Midlands Airport in the two years that we have been there.

“I would also like to pay tribute to our employees for all that they have done to bring the warmth, humanity and personal touch that should be our hallmark to our services at East Midlands Airport.”

The company said 27 of the 60-strong cabin crew based at East Midlands were due to see their contracts end in October.

Bosses said it hoped many of the remaining staff would be relocated to the other UK airports it operates from.

Monarch said the change was already reflected in its summer 2015 flights schedule.

3 comments

EMA deserves a good kicking after trying to belittle its Leicestershire base. I use Birmingham as its links to the USA are much better than the non-existent ones at EMA. Car parking is a rip off at most airports unless booked very early and using a discount code.